yellowstone

Years ago my dad decided he wanted to go to Yosemite. He called it a once in a lifetime trip. That he proceeded to do 3 more times. The first trip was with my brother and my mom and I met them there. The next year my dad and I went the two of us and then the last year it was my dad, brother and I. They were all great trips. When he said they were thinking about going to Yellowstone and renting a cabin I knew I didn't want to miss it. So the 6 of us hung out at a cabin in Montana for a few days and enjoyed big sky country together.

My dad has always been an avid photographer. He had his own dark room years ago and over the years has amassed quite the collection of lenses, tripods and gadgets. When I bought my camera a few years ago I bought a Nikon so when I went hiking with my dad or brother we could all bring different lenses to share and no one had to carry too much. When he said he was bringing the macro lens on this trip I couldn't wait to get my hands on it.

I love the details of up close photos. Photos that show a completely different vantage point and beauty that you might not notice otherwise.  I have mentioned how much I want this lens multiple times when I haven't been able to get the shot with my current lens. After a few days with the lens it might be time to treat myself and add a macro to my equipment.

I took some pictures of the landscape and of course old faithful, which was cool but not as impressive as we hoped. The smaller geysers that you can get close too really were more impressive because of the proximity and heat you could feel coming off them. Of course there were some wildlife shots as well. Who can resist a few hundred shots of buffalo? Luckily, I spare you of all of that in the following recap.

This was our first night in Montana and the first picture of the trip

my dad doing what he does, a buffalo and a coyote that at the time we thought was a wolf.  

this was the best shot I got of a bear i have been closer to one in yosemite but that bear didn't look like he was interested in a photo-op

flowers and bugs on flowers

it certainly is beautiful out there

more flowers and bugs on flowers

the steaming pools looked like another planet

more shots of the steaming pools

The colors and contrasts were out of this world and so was the heat and the smell of sulfur

trees and leaves

butterfly and ladybugs always seem like good luck 

this little guy was hanging from a tree